


Silencing Pressure

by EpicNerd



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adolescent psychology, Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Bashing, Alya Césaire Bashing, Angst, Bad Teacher Caline Bustier, Caline Bustier Bashing, Emotional Manipulation, Gaslighting, Hurt/Comfort, Lila Rossi Bashing, Manipulation, Manipulative Lila Rossi, Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug Deserves Better, Peer Pressure, Sad Marinette Dupain-Cheng, class bashing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-13 01:49:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28770363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EpicNerd/pseuds/EpicNerd
Summary: The mind of an impressionable adolescent is very vulnerable to manipulation. Lila knows this. Marinette knows this. The class of Caline Bustier knows this.
Comments: 37
Kudos: 419





	1. Isolation

The class of Caline Bustier went from being envied to being shunned in a matter of weeks. The return of Lila Rossi after the traumatizing events of Heroes’ Day was carefully planned by the sinister teen. Everyone was still in shock over what had gone down and how powerful Hawkmoth had become, leaving all but the most strong-willed shaken and feeling vulnerable. Vulnerability was the perfect fuel for manipulation, especially amongst the minds of teenagers. Better targets than the class of Caline Bustier were scarce at best, and Lila knew better than to let the opportunity slip by. So, the apex predator pounced.

The day that Lila Rossi returned was a defining moment for every student in the class. For Marinette, she realized how little her friendship meant to others when she was exiled to the back of the room in order to accommodate her best friend’s boyfriend. For Alya, she realized that she’s not as impartial as a good journalist should be, having found herself siding with Lila before all else. For Adrien, he realized how afraid he was of conflict, how afraid he was of being left alone when the dust settled. He realized that he would rather preach silence than justice.

As for the rest of the class, sans Lila herself, they shamefully realized just how much they would bend to peer pressure. Not a single student, if spoken to alone that day, would have said that Marinette was being selfish or that Lila was telling the truth. But they weren’t spoken to alone, they were spoken to as a group, a group that was parroting the others. Lila is awesome and Marinette is just jealous.

Marinette’s just upset because Lila likes Adrien. She’s just upset because Lila has a lot of injuries that need accommodations. She’s just upset because Lila does so much to help people. That’s all. If they just leave it alone and follow the majority, then everything will turn out okay. Even if it gets rough for a little bit, Marinette will understand. She’s their friend; of course she’ll understand and forgive them for just going along with everything. They couldn’t be blamed for not wanting to be shunned by the class. Marinette was just sweet like that.

Pressure is binding both ways. Its ability to force two things apart can sometimes lead to something breaking. The pressure of isolation, of betrayal is stronger than steel. Too much pressure on even the strongest structure could crack it irreversibly. Too much pressure on even the strongest hero could break her irreversibly. Marinette would come to understand this, and the class of Caline Bustier would come to understand this.

Students of Françoise Dupont wouldn’t notice at first; no, they wouldn’t notice until it started affecting them. When the most positive, sweetest, selfless girl stops smiling, that behavior is also parroted. Students who never knew her name noticed the change in her. She was always looking down at her feet, and she hardly spoke. Her classmates didn’t talk to her anymore in the courtyard, so she hardly was seen outside of the classroom. Either she was at her desk or she wasn’t at school. The others couldn’t explain it, but they felt the effects. The fine arts room lost its cheerleader. The lunch room lost the witty banter between her and Alya. The courtyard lost the girl who was often sketching something in her notebook. School events lost their personal touches that always made them stand out from other schools. The theatre no longer had their muse that could touch up costumes if needed. At meetings with all the class representatives, she used to bring amazing and realistic ideas to the table. Now…now she was quiet. Their amazing songbird lost her voice.

Students who had never properly knew of her existence wanted to know what changed, but her class denied that something was different, and Marinette was surprisingly good at going around undetected when she wanted to. Even when she did talk to someone, it was as if she was reading from a script, as if someone had decided what she was to say before the conversation even began.

Kagami noticed, but thought that Marinette just needed space. Marc noticed, but didn’t know what to do about it. Pushing Marinette to talk and work through whatever she was going through might only make it worse. Aurore noticed, and she made a comment about wanting to see Marinette smile again when she visited the bakery. That caught Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng’s attention. They confronted their daughter about it during closing, but she just pulled a neutral expression and just claimed to be tired. She then excused herself to bed, not talking to Tikki.

It was infuriating. One moment, she was Marinette, class representative and the everyday-Ladybug. The next, she was just being jealous and malicious against Lila. How could her friends since childhood, her best friend, and her crush either believe or just go along with what Lila was saying? Has she not proven herself time and time again to be worthy of even a sliver of doubt? Apparently not. Lila just needed to cry wolf, and glares tore into Marinette before she could even try to claim her innocence. Why?

Why did they go along with it? Everyone else is glaring, everyone else believes Lila, so they should, too. Yeah, that’s the smart thing to do. Don’t waste your energy fighting the current and just keep your head up above the water so you don’t drown. Besides, Marinette has been closing herself off lately. Maybe she resents Lila enough to actually do what the brunette was saying. Wait, what? Sweet Marinette? No, it’s just what everyone else is saying. Just go with the majority and everything will be okay.

Things weren’t okay, and Chat Noir was noticing. Ladybug didn’t so much as even react to his banter anymore. It was like he wasn’t there. No, more so like it was as if she wasn’t there, not really. She took care of the akuma and left. No fistbump. No goodbye. It was like she had retreated into herself, not letting anyone into her mind to know what she’s thinking. It was worrying to Chat, and he tried to get her to stay and talk to him, but her urgency to get away was too much fuel for her, and she would always disappear in the blink of an eye. Their dynamic was gone. Chat noticed, and the civilians were slowly catching on. And he was left to stew and wonder what he did wrong.

Lila Rossi sneered to herself every time she saw Marinette sitting by herself in the back of the classroom. She had held true to her promise, though the other teen hadn’t made the job particularly difficult. She pushed her friends away just as much as they did her. She honestly expected more of a fight, but the victory was still relished either way. Lila was the most popular kid in class, with everyone wanting to talk to her about her amazing travels, stories, and connections to some celebrity or another.

Marinette’s emotional absence affected the Ladyblog as well. With Ladybug never sticking around anymore, Alya couldn’t get any interviews or even cool shots of akuma battles since it was always taken care of quickly. Not even Lila could get Ladybug’s attention in order to help the journalist, and Rossi was supposedly the hero’s best friend.

The days felt like an endless loop to Marinette. Wake up. Get dressed. Go to school. Don’t talk to people. Half-pay attention to the lessons while she sketches in the back. To her benefit, she was a lot more productive, fashion-wise. During lunch, she eats at home. Classes again. After school, she helps at the bakery. Help make and eat dinner. Do homework. Go on patrol in whatever pattern she’s feeling like. Go home. Go to sleep. Repeat. Again. And. Again. It was more draining then when her schedule was always overpacked.

Then, she stepped through the bakery door after school with her eyes on the ground. Bumping into someone, she immediately apologizes before looking up and seeing someone familiar.

“Marinette! Good to see you, love!” Jagged exclaimed, wrapping the girl in a hug.

“Jagged? What are you doing here?”

“Marinette,” Sabine began, using her tone to tell her daughter to listen patiently, “Jagged Stone was talking to us about wanting to commision you again!”

“Your mum’s right! I need a rockin’ outfit to go with these rockin’ sunglasses you made,” the rockstar explains, showing off the Eiffel Tower sunglasses.

“R-really? And you want me to do it?”

“Of course! You’re wicked talented, Marinette! I wouldn’t want anyone else to do it!”

Marinette winced slightly at the rocker’s loud voice, but still glowed under the praise. Jagged bends down, his hands on her shoulders.

“What do you say, love? Will you help me out?”

“O-of course,” Marinette responded, still flustered, “when do you need it by?”

She was already thinking about rushing to her room to finish it as soon as possible when he surprised her further.

“Four months from now good? I want the outfit for the opening show of my next world tour, though having a Marinette-original at any time would be wicked awesome!”

“Oh! Yeah, that-that’s good with me!”

“Great! I have to run, love, but Penny can stay and talk commissioning prices with you. Later!”

Jagged walked through the door, stepping into a car that drove away.

“So, Marinette, Jagged is looking for a leather jacket, undershirt, pants, and shoes to match the glasses you’ve already made him. Do you know what you charge for that?” Penny asked, clutching a pen and clipboard.

“Charge? Oh, um, I don’t really charge for requests from people I know.”

Penny’s eyebrow quirks upward as she sits down at one of the chairs in the bakery.

“Well, the price will obviously cover for the expenses of the materials used in the outfit. Usually with handmade works, commissions go for double the minimum wage times how many hours the project takes.”

“T-that’s really not necessary. I’m more than happy to help Jagged out!”

Penny gave her that weird look again, unsettling Marinette to the point that she backtracks a bit.

“It’s for the opening show, right? How about tickets for me and my fr-…”

“Well, tickets for you and whoever you wanted to bring was a given. Maybe I should come back later when you’ve had a little time to think of your price. I’m sure it was startling and sudden to be commissioned by Jagged. Have a good day, Marinette!”

With that, Penny left, too. Marinette excused herself to her room to think and do homework, promising that she would help with the bakery during closing. As soon as the hatch closed, Marinette quickly pulled her phone out, ready to call Alya and exclaim over what had just happened. But, she stopped when she saw the other girl’s contact photo. She closed her phone, placing it on her desk, face-down. What should have been a happy moment was the opposite, grief weighing down on her over the loss of her friendships. The pressure of her loneliness pushed out the glee of the proposition, and Marinette sat down in her chair and buried her face in her arms.

Alya had her back when she was wrongfully expelled, but she still couldn’t get over the look of hurt on the blogger’s face in the locker room when the principal had sealed her fate. It was etched into her mind, taunting her anytime she had too much time to think or the room was just a little too quiet.

How could she have lost everything so quickly, so undeservingly? She was a hero, wasn’t she? She was the good guy, wasn’t she? She was supposed to get a happy ending, wasn’t she? So many things about her life was magical, so why couldn’t the end results be the same? Her questions would go unanswered for a long time.

Marinette had to accept that things couldn’t magically go back to how they were before the day started. There was no reset or clear button. Marinette had to accept that in the game of chess where she is playing against Lila, there was only one set of pieces, and Lila had taken them all, leaving Marinette alone and defenseless. Her world was quiet while her mind was chaotic. What kind of happy ending is that?


	2. Hollow Happiness

How did things get this bad? Marinette felt as if her life was some cruel soap opera. If it was, weren’t things supposed to get better? Or is she just the gag character? Is her only purpose to be something for others to laugh at and think ‘Well, at least I’m not her’? Perfect, just perfect.

Her classmates had gone along with the majority for so long that they started to believe it. Marinette really was in the wrong, and Lila really was telling the truth. They couldn’t all be wrong for so long, right? Of course, they knew that Lila wasn’t the nicest person in the world. Maybe that had a play in their behavior. Yeah, that’s why they did what they did: for survival.

Lila, in just a few weeks, had made herself the queen of the school, outranking Chloé in popularity. People knew her name, and some knew to cling to her. Of them were Chloé, Sabrina, and Alya. They all knew what kind of person Lila was, but, if you want to survive high school, you’ve got to keep things cool with the apex predator. It wasn’t like the liar could be outsmarted; no matter how you looked at it, Lila knew what she was doing, and she knew she was good at it. Marinette would understand. She’s been bullied before, so she’ll get wanting to dodge the wrath. At least, that was the train of thought for Alya.

She had been victim, too. She had been unnoticed, too. Now, Alya was in the pack of the queen of the school. Now, now she was safe. She was honestly doing Marinette a favor. Alya was sure that her being friends with Lila was what kept the brunette from speaking up about the other girl.

Lila’s plan had worked perfectly. The sole girl in her way had stepped down, leaving the school free to rule under her rein. Now, she stalked the halls for the thrill of the kill. Whoever she saw as a threat to her throne or even just annoying would go down at the point of her finger and the lie flicked off her tongue. Those not in the class of Caline Bustier would begin to sweat or even shake as they looked away from her. Lila felt powerful, and she could definitely get used to it.

The game was actually short for Lila’s taste, and it left a somewhat bitter taste in her mouth whenever she saw Marinette around the school. At first, the victory was glorious. But, with time, the feeling diminished more and more. Marinette became nothing but another nobody to Lila, and that was unsatisfying. Lila decided that she wanted to see her squirm a little bit more.

The perfect day came when Marinette came to school one day, looking different. She wore the same clothes, and her hair or slight makeup hadn’t changed. She still frowned, but something was different. Her eyes seemed brighter, and her shoulders weren’t quite so hunched. Yes, Lila was able to easily deduce that something good had happened to Marinette, which made it the perfect time to swoop in and blow out the match.

“It’s awesome what happened to Marinette. Did you hear?” Lila leaned back whispered during class when Caline had her back turned.

“No?” Alya whispered back.

“You didn’t? Oh, I thought she would have told you since you two are best friends.”

It was so easy. Alya looked behind her, hurt already in her eyes as she was left to wonder for the rest of the class period what might have happened that she wasn’t told about.

When the bell rang, Alya strode up the aisle to the back of the classroom, placing a hand on Marinette’s desk.

“Hey, girl!”

“What? Oh, hey, Alya. What’s up?”

“Nothing much, what about you?”

For a split-second, Marinette wanted to excitedly tell Alya about Jagged’s offer. For a split-second, she wanted to gush and jump up and down with her best friend. It took a split-second for her eyes to dart to Lila, who was smiling with narrowed eyes. It took a split-second to decide to keep it to herself.

“Nothing on report my to end! I mean-! Nothing to report on my end!”

Alya pouted at being lied to, silently wondering why Marinette wouldn’t tell her and then lie about something good going on.

“Are you sure? Like, nothing at all you want to tell me? Nothing awesome that happened?”

Marinette stared sadly at Alya, silently wanting to tell her everything and go back to how things were before she had been exiled.

The class filed out, talking amongst themselves. Lila stepped out of the room as well, but she hung by the doorway so that she could listen in. Marinette, upon seeing the brunette leave the room, sighed in relief.

“Alright, I’ll tell you. But you have to keep it a secret, okay?”

“Girl, you know you can trust me!” Alya exclaimed.

Marinette bit back the “Can I?” in favor of smiling through the wince.

“Well, you know how I made those sunglasses for Jagged Stone awhile back?”

Alya paused for a moment, thinking back to what felt like so long ago. When she remembered, she snapped her fingers and smiled.

“Hey, yeah! You did! That was really cool!”

“Yeah, well, he came by the bakery yesterday, and…he commissioned me for a full outfit based off of them!”

Alya squealed, lifting Marinette up out of her seat in a hug. In that moment, it felt as if nothing was wrong. Nothing bad had happened. No one had been hurt. It felt…good.

Lila smiled and walked away to go eat lunch. Marinette, as per her new usual, went home for lunch. However, Alya came with, making Tom and Sabine happy to see Marinette talking again. She had become quiet as a mouse at home, and to see her happily talking with her friend filled them with joy.

When break was over, the two girls went back, Marinette smiling as she had forgotten about Lila for a bit. That is, until they got back to class and she saw the brunette talking to Adrien. She didn’t know what to think of the fact that their talking didn’t bother her. She returned to her seat for some peace, but that was short-lived.

“Marinette! Can you get us tickets to Jagged’s show?” Rose squeaked, eyes wide with excitement.

“Huh? What?”

“Lila was telling us about how she put a good word in with Jagged, getting him to commission you for an entire outfit! That’s so awesome!” Mylène exclaimed from her seat.

Something cracked in Marinette’s chest, and the world crumbled; the happy, little, short-lived world where her problems didn’t exist was destroyed. Lila had cut deep by taking away her work and pride by making it seem like Marinette hadn’t earned it by herself, and it stung worse than a bee. Her accomplishment had been diminished to a favor put in by someone else. And it wasn’t even true! But her classmates believed it. And so would anyone else probably who would decide to listen.

Marinette slid her hands under the table and into her lap so no one would be able to easily see her light trembling. Was it anger? Was it just emotional pain? Her eyes fell down to her desk, no longer able to look her classmates in the eyes.

“I’ll see what I can do,” she mumbled.

“Yay! Thank you, Marinette!” Rose squealed, running off to chat with Juleka.

Marinette didn’t even have to look up to know that Lila was sneering at her. With the attention no longer on her, she allowed her hands to ball into fists as she slightly bared her teeth at her blank desk, anger running through her. Where does Lila get off telling people that? It’s not fair! She forced herself to physically relax herself as she took a deep breath so as to not be akumatized. She would give Lila no such pleasure by getting to see that.

Adrien noticed Marinette’s unhappiness, and tries to go up and talk to her before Lila grabs his arm and latches herself on him.

“Isn’t what I did for Marinette very sweet? Espec-“

“Yeah, I was going to go talk to her right now, actually.”

Adrien pulled her off, continuing until he got to Marinette’s desk.

“Hey, Marinette! Really awesome how Jagged Stone asked you to make an entire outfit for him.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Marinette mumbles, absently tracing over an old design.

Adrien falters, surprised by both her ability to actually talk to him and by her nonchalant attitude towards the opportunity. His eyebrows furrowed, not certain how to proceed. When she crossed her arms and turned her head away from him, he sighed and returned to his seat, frowning with his eyes downcast.

Marinette didn’t pay much attention that day, her head feeling dense as she resided herself to learning the lesson on her own after school. Whether she actually would or just guess on the homework was up to how tiring the rest of the day was.

She opened her sketchbook, but found that she couldn’t even concentrate on that, instead just lazily tracing over what was already there. No thought went through her head, just emptiness.

Juleka discreetly watched Marinette from the corner of her eye, her frown genuine rather than just her neutral face. The other girl was her friend; Marinette had been the one to advocate for Juleka when she missed the class picture. Marinette had stood up for her, and she was ashamed that she hadn’t done the same. But…what was she supposed to do? She didn’t have the same fighting spirit as Marinette. And, besides, it’s not that big of a deal. Juleka knew Marinette, and she knew that the other girl wouldn’t possibly just stand by and by silent unless it wasn’t a big deal. Yeah, that’s what’s really going on.

Despite reaching that conclusion, Juleka still felt off for the rest of the day, like she strummed the wrong cord that sent an ugly wave through her body. She ignored it. She was just one girl; what could she possibly do? Marinette was strong, so she’d be able to pull through even if Juleka was wrong and something wasn’t right.

Nathaniel still mentally kicked himself from time to time when he saw how sad Marinette was. This girl, who he used to be in love with, who set him up with the boy that he now makes published comics with, who listened to him when others wouldn’t was sad, and he wasn’t doing anything about it. But…Alix is his best friend, and she definitely thinks that Marinette is in the wrong, so…maybe she was. The pink-haired girl did say that he trusted too much, so maybe he was just not letting himself see anything but the good in Marinette. Maybe…

Ivan stared ahead at the board, though his thoughts weren’t on the lesson. He was trying to daydream about doing a killer drum solo in front of millions of fans, but his mind kept drifting. Marinette had convinced him to confess to Mylène, hadn’t seen him as a monster after he became Stoneheart, and was an advent supporter of Kitty Section. Something about Marinette being the bully felt off, but no one would listen to him, so why should he bother saying anything? He was just a big oof who was always in the way, so he should stay out of it now. Yeah, intervening would just be annoying and nosey of him. Yeah, it was best to just stay out of it.

Nino peered down at Lila discreetly as she tapped on her tablet. Marinette was his childhood friend; granted, they weren’t super close or anything, but they had a history together, a happy history. At one point, he had even had a huge crush on her before he fell for Alya.

But now…now it was like they were a million worlds apart. Nino thought it was unfair, but wasn’t sure what to think past that. Should he have stuck up for her rather than taking her seat next to Alya? No, he was a good friend! He knew it! He had advocated for Adrien’s birthday party when his grouch of a father had said no! He was a good friend!

Besides, he knew Alya wouldn’t possibly pick a side without searching for all the facts; she was just a good reporter like that. If she was siding with Lila, then he knew to do the same. Besides, he didn’t want to make a fool of himself by stepping away from the entire class to defend just one girl. That just wouldn’t make sense.

Marinette hardly noticed when the school bell rang to signal the end of the day, and she didn’t get out of her seat in any sort of rush. No one talked to her, and she didn’t talk to anybody. Alya tried to go up to her, but Lila intercepted to talk about the Ladyblog. Marinette was left alone in the back of the room. The students left, and Caline Bustier shuffled some papers before looking up at the girl. Her soft smile turned sour when she saw the teen’s expression. Somehow…it looked guilty.

“Marinette? Is everything alright?”

Caline wanted the happy Marinette back, she wanted the class representative back, the good example back. The girl was the good that balanced the bad, and Caline wanted that back in her classroom.

She had been shocked when she received the anonymous note about Marinette cheating on the test. It hadn’t made sense as Marinette always got high marks, but the proof was there in her backpack. What else was she supposed to think?

And then Marinette had accused Lila of framing her, and that made Caline mad. Lila was so nice and generous, and Marinette wasn’t setting a good example at all by pointing fingers. The teacher was honestly disappointed in Marinette for her behavior.

“Yes ma’am. I’m fine. Have a nice day,” Marinette mumbled as she packed her bag before leaving the room.

Caline watched her movements silently, trying to think of what to say or do. The classroom door closed, so she returned to organizing her papers.

Marinette walked past the students waiting for their rides, and she walked past the citizens going about their days, and she walked past her parents as they tried to ask her how her day went, and she walked past Tikki who tried to talk to her once they were in her room.

She placed her backpack on her desk before climbing the stairs to her bed, flopping down face-first before turning to lay on her side and stare at her corkboard. Pictures of her friends and pictures of Adrien littered it, and their smiles felt fake as they stared back at her. Their faces made her mad, and she scowled as she limply reached forward and tore the pictures off one by one. Tikki just watched as her wearer crumbled them up and tossed them behind her to land on the floor below. Before, she would have stopped Marinette and gave a speech about not giving up on friends, but the kwami knew better and instead bit her tongue, fluttering off to give the girl some space.

When the board was empty, Marinette curled in on herself slightly, wanting to cry but not having the energy to emotionally release. Instead, she just laid there and stared at nothing, thinking about nothing until she fell into a restless sleep that would just leave her more tired than before.


	3. Fracture

Marinette picked up the crumbled papers, feeling as if she was filled with lead while she trudged around her room and threw away the discarded photos. A headache that had pulled her into consciousness made her irritable, and thus she kept herself couped up in her room after dinner so as not to snap at her parents.

She had tried doing homework, but found that she couldn’t focus. She tried playing video games, but her eyelids kept drooping. She tried going back to sleep, but small jolts of energy throughout her body kept her awake into the night. Sighing, she accepted that she was exhausted and restless all the same.

Moving slowly so as not to wake Tikki, Marinette gently presses up against the skylight, climbing through the hatch onto the balcony. She wasn’t sure what time it was, but she knew she was tired. She wasn’t sure what day it was, but she knew the weather to be cold.

If it had been a warm evening, then she would have felt as if she was welcomed, embraced by the simple weather. But, it wasn’t welcoming. The winds were harsh, pushing her away as it howled. The darkness felt suffocating rather than vast, putting Marinette on edge. It wasn’t raining, but the air felt damp, heavy, weighing down on Marinette as it threatened to crush her without a trace.

Even the stars had left her alone, the City of Lights being too bright for the stars to be seen. The new moon left the sky empty, lonely. Marinette shivered, tugging at the sleeves of her pajama shirt.

More than anything, she wanted Alya to sneak up behind her and tackle her in a hug before pulling her back down into her bedroom where Juleka, Rose, Alix, and Mylène were waiting for the sleepover traditions to continue. There would be warmth and joy radiating in the room, embracing Marinette as her friends welcomed her with loving arms and kind words.

When she dropped down onto her bed, the room was dark and empty, cold, sending a pang through Marinette’s heart. Tears burned her eyes, and she angrily rubbed them away with her forearm before roughly pulling her covers up over her, wanting to be lost in her sheets. 

If the class of Caline Bustier had just talked through everything or even just talked at all, then Lila’s strings as the puppet-master would be severely thinner. The art of assumptions was prevalent more and more; in society, in teenagers, at Françoise Dupont, in the class of Caline Bustier. She couldn’t help but smile when her classmates were just a bit too eager to agree with her, nor could she subdue her joy when they doomed themselves by refusing to talk to each other. Fear was truly amazing.

There was something, however, that the vixen had not accounted for. Fear cannot snuff out what it doesn’t affect. Marinette was alienated from the class of Caline Bustier, but not those akin to her in strength. That oversight would not be Lila’s complete downfall, but it would surely reign in the rust on the chains holding Marinette Dupain-Cheng.

The morning was rough for the baker’s daughter. Sleep had been scarce, peppering dark circles under the girl’s eyes in its place. Irritable, her alarm had woken her up on time, and she silently got dressed. Downstairs, she ate breakfast alone, her parents already working. With nothing keeping her at home, Marinette slips out of the bakery, school-bound. No one bothers to talk to her as she crosses the courtyard, and she doesn’t bother talking to anyone in return. Instead, she ascends the stairs, entering the classroom and resuming her space at the back.

Opening her phone, she begins comparing different leathers that she found when she explored one of the shopping districts. She hadn’t had a reason at the time when making note of them, but she could use the information now to begin planning Jagged’s outfit.

Just as she was about to text Penny to get a reference on where Jagged got his outfits previously, the assistant texted her first, wanting to check up on whether Marinette had decided on her commissioner’s fee yet. When the teen said no due to her not having settled on what fabric to use, Penny surprised her with Jagged’s request to personally escort her through any fabric shop of her choosing. Marinette had to suppress her gleeful grin as she responded with confirmation, as long as her parents said yes, of course.

Upon parental approval, the two agreed on the time and location before Penny had to leave to attend a meeting. Marinette’s leg bounced repeatedly as she near-vibrated with excited anticipation for that afternoon. However, she went still when Lila entered the room, clinging onto Adrien’s arm. She and the blonde locked eyes briefly before she turned her head to look out the window, deflated and dull once more.

When the bell rang, more students entered the room, talking amongst themselves. That would end soon enough. Lila sneered to herself before standing up when Caline walked through the door.

“Ms. Bustier! There’s something I need to talk to you about!” Lila exclaimed, successfully grabbing everyone’s attention.

“Yes. What is it, Lila?”

“Well, I was thinking, and I realized that it’s been a long time since Marinette last planned a class outing. I believe her last event was after Heroes’ Day?” Lila pondered aloud.

She received just the reaction that she had anticipated: fear. The class of Caline Bustier was still tense about what had gone down that day. From the fear of lost heroes, to mass akumatization, to Hawkmoth himself making an appearance. Alya and Nino inwardly shuddered as they thought about how they had been akumatized while already under one mask.

“Y-yeah! It has been awhile! Good idea, Lila!” Mylène stuttered, hoping to move past the fearful memory.

“How about a picnic this afternoon? You could bring sweets from your parents’ bakery, Marinette!” Lila suggested, looking at the girl in the back.

“That sounds nice. What do you say, Marinette?” Adrien asked, smiling at the prospect of peace.

“Oh, um, that’s a…great…idea, Lila. But I-I already have plans,” Marinette choked, trying to sound as sincere as she could bring herself to be.

“Oh, come now, Marinette! I think everyone can agree that this class could use some bonding as of late!” Caline exclaimed, smiling as ever.

“But I-!”

“Oh, forget it. Marinette won’t like anything I suggest. She never does.”

Lila returned to her seat, looking down at the floor with a gloomful expression. The class tensed up, switching between gazing at Lila and gazing at Marinette. On the one hand, Marinette wasn’t exactly known for being malicious. On the other hand, they all knew that she just went home everyday after school. What are the odds that today is the one day she has plans? They all knew that Marinette didn’t like Lila, but would she lie to all of their faces just to get out of being around her?

Conflicted, the mood of the class dropped. Caline’s smile dropped, and she cleared her throat.

“Marinette? Can I see you outside for a moment?”

“M-me?”

Lila’s lips twitched upward before returning to their sorrowful state.

“Yes,” Caline confirmed calmly.

Hesitantly, Marinette stood up, walking down the aisle before exiting the room along with the teacher.

“Now, Marinette, I’m not sure of the entire situation, but I do know that nothing is resolved by avoiding Lila.”

“I’m not avoiding, Lila! I’m not lying when I say that I have plans this afternoon!” Marinette exclaimed, more irritable than she wanted others to see.

“The class needs its representative. They’re counting on you to lead them in the right direction. Isn’t mending the bonds with your friends more important?” Caline asked, crossing her arms over her chest and looking down at Marinette while still wearing her approachable smile and maintaining her open body language.

“I-I-!”

“I’m counting on you to make the best decision, Marinette.”

Caline patted the girl on the shoulder briefly before turning around and reentering the classroom. Marinette followed behind, not looking anyone in the eye as she returned to her seat.

“So, Marinette, what do you say about the class picnic? I’m sure everyone is excited to eat from your parents’ bakery!” Caline pushed, sitting down and resting her chin on her hands.

Marinette paused, her face scrunched up as her nails dug into her palms. Then, she looked Caline directly in the eyes, determination in her own.

“Yeah, I’m sure my parents would love it if you guys dropped by and bought some pastries from them.”

“What?” the teacher asked, cocking her head slightly.

“I already said that I have plans. I have no intention of dropping them.”

“Marinette, I thought we had reached an understanding. You need to set a good example and-“

“I’m busy.”

“What are you so busy with that you can’t hang out with your friends?” Alix snaps, standing up and glaring at Marinette.

Marinette hadn’t wanted to say what she was doing in fear of being accused of lying or asked for some variation of a favor that would affect her productivity in the afternoon. But, she knew when she was backed into a corner.

“I have plans with Jagged Stone to go shopping for fabrics to use in his outfit.”

Mixed variations of shock crossed over the class’s face.

“Oh,” Lila said before smiling, “why didn’t you say so? We should all come along and help you! That’s what good friends do, after all!”

Marinette felt her blood boil as her ears burned with the furrowing of her eyebrows. Around her, the class turned bubbly with excitement.

“Yeah, we can help!” Kim exclaimed, pumping his fist into the air.

“Oh, it’ll be so much fun!” Rose chirped, clapping her hands together.

“Aw, man! I can’t believe I’m going to get to meet the Jagged Stone! Awesome idea, Lila!” Nino finished off, causing an avalanche of parroting his last sentence.

“Is Jagged okay with that, Marinette?” Nathaniel asked in anticipation.

“Oh, I-um, you see, the thing is-“

The excitement died down, shoulders slumping and whispers grumbling.

“Marinette, can’t you at least ask Jagged if we can come along? There’s no harm done in asking, right?” Adrien asked, upset at seeing his classmates be disappointed.

“I-I-…”

“Come on, girl! I know you have Penny’s number!” Alya exclaimed, sure that Marinette would be put at ease as soon as Jagged confirmed their invitation to come along and the attention could move off of the young designer.

Defeated, Marinette stood up, pulling her phone out. Hoping Penny was still in her meeting, she opened the assistant’s contact, dialing her number. It rang, the class growing more and more hopeful. Then, Marinette felt the air be crushed out of her chest when Penny picked up.

“Hey, Marinette! You called just as I got out of my meeting! What’s up? Aren’t you in school right now?”

Marinette clenched her jaw, looking over her class as she had a vice grip on her phone, pressing it a bit too hard against her ear.

“Hey, Penny. Yeah, um, about my plans to meet up with Jagged this afternoon-…”

Marinette locked eyes with Caline, silently begging the teacher to tell her to get off her phone so that class would start. No such luck as she realized her teacher was gazing back with just as much joy and anticipation.

“Oh? Can you no longer go? I’d have to look at Jagged’s planner to see when else he would be free.”

“No, no! Today is fine!” Marinette said quickly, waving her free arm though she knew Penny couldn’t actually see her.

“Oh, then what about today?”

“I was wondering if, um, if I could bring some friends along? The more opinions, the better the results, right?”

Marinette let out a shaky laugh that wasn’t audible to anyone but Penny.

“Am I on speakerphone?”

“N-no?”

Marinette turned her back on the class, cupping the phone so that no one would be able to hear.

“Do you think it would be better if you were working with just Jagged?”

“…Yes.”

“Put me on speaker.”

Marinette turned back around, tentatively fulfilling the request.

“I’m sorry, Marinette’s friends, but I’m afraid that Jagged prefers to work one-on-one when it comes to things he cares about. I’m sure you all understand,” Penny’s voice rang clearly through the phone.

The class slumped once more, accepting that there was nothing more to be done.

“Of course, sorry for wasting your time. I’ll see you later, Penny.”

“Goodbye, Marinette.”

With that, the call ended, and Marinette put her phone away.

“It’s alright, Marinette. You tried,” Adrien said, still trying to be optimistic, “We can all hang out some other time when everyone’s schedules are a bit more clear!”

“Yeah, sure,” Marinette mumbled, slinking down into her seat.


	4. Shift

Adrien didn’t approve of how Marinette was handling the situation. He had told her that it was best to just stay quiet because nothing good would come of making Lila out to be a villain. She had agreed that it was okay since they knew, but then she kept going against Lila. Why was she doing that?

Didn’t she understand that Adrien was trying to protect her by trying to get her to stay out of it? Didn’t she understand that Lila hurts people when they get in her way? Adrien had been witness to Lila’s malicious actions, so he supposed he couldn’t completely blame Marinette for not knowing when to back down. But, he knew.

He had seen for himself that Lila would sacrifice anyone to get what she wants; Gorilla and Nathalie would be able to attest to that with how Lila lied her way into the mansion one day. She had also lied about a picture that she sent to everyone, causing Kagami to be akumatized. And, before that, when Adrien had asked Lila to stop lying, she had been akumatized and immediately went after him. And, before even that, Ladybug had called Lila out on her lies, and the brunette had been akumatized then, too. He was pretty sure Lila held a vendetta against Ladybug since she aided Hawkmoth during Kagami’s second akumatization.

Adrien knew Lila was dangerous; he just had to prove it to Marinette so that he could save her from Lila’s wrath. He was honestly worried for Marinette; she just didn’t know when to stop. Adrien truthfully didn’t understand why Marinette was so bent out of sorts over Lila’s lies. It wasn’t like they affected her, that is, before she went on a raid to expose Lila. Adrien still wasn’t sure what that was about.

He sighed as he forced himself to return his focus to his homework. Just a few streets over, Marinette was pulled out of her focus at the same time.

“Marinette! It’s trash day!” Sabine called up the stairs.

The teen put her pencil down, standing up and grabbing her wastebasket as she made her way over to the trap door. When she glanced at its contents, she paused. Silently, she debated over whether to take the pictures out, smooth the creases, and pin them back up. Sighing, Marinette bends down, her fingers curling around the hatch before lifting it up.

“Here you go, Mom,” she says softly, handing over the wastebasket.

Sabine’s eyebrows furrowed at both her daughter’s behavior and her daughter’s trash.

“Marinette? Is something wrong? Why are you throwing away all these photos?”

Marinette froze, a quiet, choking sound escaping her throat.

“They’re just…old photos. I’ll replace them soon.”

Sabine was skeptical, but respected her daughter by not pushing. Surely, her daughter knew to come to her if something was wrong. Marinette returned to her room, her own words echoing in her head.

“Are you okay, Marinette? You stopped moving,” Tikki said, fluttering out and hovering in front of the girl’s face.

“Yeah, I am, actually.”

She picked her phone up, sending the same text to multiple people.

‘Let’s hang out together at the park!’

Storing her homework away, Marinette opens her purse to allow Tikki to fly in before heading back downstairs.

“I’m heading out with friends, Papa! Love you!”

“Oh!…Love you too, Marinette! Be safe!” Tom responded, surprised and happy that his daughter wasn’t locking herself away in her room.

Marinette left the bakery, heading down the street to meet up with her friends. She could already see that Kagami was there, which made her happy. She could then see Aurore enter the park from the opposite gate. Luka could be seen further down the street, biking his way towards her with a big smile on his face. Finally, Marc joined paths with her at the fountain, where the other three approached as well.

“Hey, Marinette. I was happy that you asked me to hang out,” Luka said, unclipping his helmet.

“I was surprised as well. There is no special occasion that I’m unaware of, is there?” Kagami asked.

“Nope! I just wanted to hang out with my friends on a beautiful day!”

“It really is. I didn’t even bring my umbrella!” Aurore exclaimed.

“What did you have in mind, Marinette?” Marc asked, taking his hoodie off upon deducing that he was in friendly company.

“Anyone know where Andrè is today?” Marinette asked the group with a coy smile.

They all smiled and nodded in agreement before disembarking to find the fateful cart pushed by the matchmaker of Paris. It did not take longer than fifteen minutes of wandering around to hear Andre’s singing, and they excitedly ran towards the sound. When they saw the man and the cart, they each happily ordered their treats unique to what Andre sensed about them.

The five friends sat by the pier, happily enjoying their ice cream whilst chatting about whatever crossed their minds. Marinette smiled and laughed and spoke about what she wanted to say, not what others necessarily wanted to hear.

Across the river, Juleka, Rose, Alya, Nino, Mylène, Ivan, and Lila kept glancing at the other group on the Couffaine boat. Their own joyful conversation had slowly died down, the air becoming heavy despite being outside. Their lips were pursed, frowns etched into their faces as they gazed on.

They had simply never thought about Marinette having friends outside of the class, much less spending time outside of school with them, without her classmates. The scene rubbed them the wrong way, leaving a bitter taste on their tongues. What felt so wrong about what they were seeing? Shouldn’t they be happy that Marinette seemed to be?

“I can’t believe Marinette’s so petty as to replace you guys over a simple disagreement,” Lila said, breaking the silence as she crossed her arms over her chest.

“What? Marinette? No way!” Nino retaliated, jumping to the girl’s defense.

“Yeah! We’ve always known that Marinette’s been friends with Luka, Kagami, Aurore, and Marc,” Alya added.

“She does seem like she’s having a lot of fun without us, though,” Rose said, speaking more to herself than to the rest of the group.

A sharp sense of insecurity fell over the teens, and they inwardly hugged themselves to squeeze out the pangs in their chests. Was Lila right? Were they being replaced? Were they just that replaceable? Did Marinette never actually like them to begin with? She was known for being nice…maybe their friendship was just her being nice. Did she not care?

“Did she somehow know that I was already with you guys? Is that why she didn’t invite you to her get-together with friends? This is all my fault again, isn’t it?” Lila asked, feigning pain and guilt.

“No, it’s not, Lila,” Mylene began, her hot-headedness that was usually well-managed settling in, “Marinette’s just being jealous and immature. That’s all.”

But was that really it? Individually, everyone knew that the statement didn’t match the image; not that of the five friends on the other side of the pier or just plain Marinette in general. That sinking, sickening feeling of defeat came back. They knew Marinette, knew that she was a good person. But, would the others think that? Were they actually right in their perspective on things, or were they just thinking like a stupid child and being naive? They didn’t want to risk being made fun of for defending someone that wasn’t there and wouldn’t know about the conversation. As a group, they agreed with what Mylene said and moved to comfort Lila, who looked as if she were crying.


	5. Finale

Tikki was slow to anger, and only true ignorance made her mad. Marinette’s classmates…they made her mad. Yes, she has to admit that hindsight bias is playing into her view on the situation, and she could even accept that, as human adolescents with still-developing minds, some things weren’t as clear to the class of Caline Bustier. For that, they should be forgivable.

She could turn a blind eye to them forgetting their manners when excited by things as getting to meet a celebrity, though an apology afterwards would have been nice for Marinette. She could understand why they would want to be friends with Lila, a girl that appeared to be nice and had amazing stories to tell and connections to share. Heck, she could commend them for following what they thought to be right by turning away from what was mean and toxic.

But, what made her teeth grind together, was that what was mean and toxic clearly was not such. What made her label the class as ‘bad friends’ was lack of loyalty to Marinette.

Tikki hadn’t been in Marinette’ life long enough to either see or be told about everything, but she had been there for part of it. She had seen who Marinette was, and she had seen who she wasn’t. And, what she wasn’t was what Lila, -no, what the class made her out to be. It disgusted Tikki how quickly their loyalty transferred as if it held no value at all. It infuriated the kwami that she had to hide her existence and not personally yell at every single one of the people that hurt Marinette.

Marinette was socially awkward when nervous, sure, and even she sometimes made mistakes that could have been avoided. She sometimes took things too far; she has been petty and jealous and ignorant as to the repercussions of her actions. Marinette had her fair share of flaws and was far from being perfect, but there was something very distinct about Marinette’s mistakes, errors in judgment, and bad decisions: she was called out and punished for it. The others knew no such humility.

A line has to be drawn in the sand over what can’t just be overlooked, and Tikki was starting to worry that the line hadn’t been properly drawn for the kids. Only so many of their actions could be chalked up to teen ignorance or egocentrism; the finger can only be pointed at so many other people. At what point will the message get across that things weren’t okay?

Alya typed a message, then deleted it before she could hit “Send”. She typed another message, but that one didn’t last as long to be debated over. She and Marinette were friends! Why does it feel so awkward to text the other girl? Type another text; delete it. Search through camera roll for a funny picture; stare at it until it’s not funny enough to send. Open contacts list; never lower thumb enough to start a call. What was up with her? Why was she being so weird?

“It’s just Marinette,” Alya breathed to herself, her eyebrows furrowed as she gazed at her phone.

For some reason, the thought of Marinette seeing her text and rolling her eyes in annoyance made Alya’s stomach twist up in knots. What? No, Marinette would never do that. They’re best friends!

There’s a devil on her shoulder where the angel used to be, and her name is Lila. The brunette’s voice rang clearly with memories that caused Alya to physically curl into herself.

_“You didn’t? Oh, I thought she would have told you since you two are best friends.”_

_Alya looked behind her, hurt already in her eyes as she was left to wonder for the rest of the class period what might have happened that she wasn’t told about._

Alya physically winced as the memory surged in her mind; the fear and doubt trickled in like rain through a deteriorated roof. Sighing in frustration, she turned her phone off, tossing it to the other side of her bed before pulling her knees up to her chest and looking out the window at the clear Parisian sky.

Adrien gazed through the glass wall of his room at the sky, hoping for a flash of red to bleed into the blue scene. Plagg sat on the teen’s shoulder, facing the room as he munched on a piece of Camembert. Tension between the two was evident with their feud over Adrien’s behavior. The kwami thought that the way the boy was handling the situation wasn’t very Chat Noir-like, saying that heroes were supposed to march on and accept consequences for the sake of not only friends but what is known to be right. Adrien argued that peace was more important than being right, that, just because there was a solution, doesn’t mean that it’s the best one.

“You know, as someone who has lived an eternity unknown by almost every person in existence, I can definitively say that isolation…loneliness…is more painful than the temporary pain of a disagreement. I’d rather there be an avalanche to allow the snow to settle on the bottom than the fear of a disaster settling on my shoulders. And, sometimes, you have to be the one to scream to make the snow fall,” Plagg said, watching the side of Adrien’s head from the corner of his eye.

“We’re not talking about snow, Plagg. We’re talking about people, my friends! If Lila is exposed, nothing good can come of it for them. But, if everything just stays the same, the way that it is, then nothing can change for the worse.”

“-Or for the better.”

Adrien hesitates, blinking rapidly as he struggles to swallow.

“Marinette will be fine. She’s our everyday-Ladybug; I think she can do anything.”

Plagg sighs, finishing his snack and fluttering away, frustrated that Adrien just couldn’t see how easily his band-aid of a solution could be ripped away.

Lila wrapped band-aids around her fingers, planning to tell the class the next day that she burned her fingers in the oven trying to make the brownies she had promised all of them between the whispers that Marinette was replacing them.

‘I’m so sorry, everyone. I was taking the brownies out of the oven when they were done, and I was so anxious to make sure they were good enough for you all since they’re not exactly the Dupain-Cheng bakery brownies that you’re used to getting, and I guess that I forgot to put my oven mitts on! I’m so clumsy,’ is what Lila could already imagine herself saying tomorrow through tears.

Oh, she could already see the scene play out as if it were some cheesy drama that makes you cringe when you watch it. Her classmates, bummed about not having the promised treats, will all flip like a switch and rush to comfort her, saying that it’s okay through words of praise for her efforts. She could practically hear one or two of them offering to take notes for her so that she doesn’t have to hold a pencil. But, best of all, she knew they would look at her bandaged fingers and point their own at Marinette; they were quite good at that. The script was already forming in her head as to how they will say that she wouldn’t have gotten hurt had Marinette volunteered to bring in brownies after she had dissed them to hang out with others.

It almost didn’t feel real how animated their behaviors were, as if there wasn’t even a concept of the color grey in their black-and-white world. Either Marinette’s a saint or she’s a bully. Hot or cold, nice or mean, friendly or distant.

“They really do deserve each other,” Lila mused to herself as she thought about her classmates.

Honestly, Lila thought that Marinette should thank her for helping to make it obvious what value her friendships had. Sometimes, the light pointed at a mirror can hurt your eyes, but looking will allow you to see what had gone unseen.

Marinette stood in front of her mirror, wearing a less-detailed prototype of one of her favorite concepts, trying to figure out if the piece would fit into the puzzle of the rest of the picture. At the same time, she listened to Jagged’s latest album, adopting the method she used when designing an album cover for him.

Shaking her head, Marinette sighs before walking away as she took the jacket off.

“This one won’t do at all, Tikki.”

“What about, instead of leaning so heavily on adding dimensions to it, you embroider some of the designs? Like, instead of sewing sequins onto the jacket, you embellish it with a pastel yellow leather. That way, the black-and-gold color theme still stands and the texture won’t contract so much.”

“Hey, yeah! And I can even still get the glimmering effect by using mod podge and gold glitter, and I can use hairspray to set it.”

“Good thinking, Marinette.”

“You’re pretty good too, Tikki! I didn’t know you were into fashion?”

The kwami giggles before fluttering around the girl’s head, getting Marinette to laugh as well.

“Jagged’s going to love his outfit.”

“I sure hope so, Tikki!”

* * *

Days passed as Marinette paid less and less attention to her classmates while they paid more attention to her. Not directly, of course. They would surely be made fun of by Lila and the others. Slowly, they began to realize that they liked Lila less and less every day. Confused as to why her opinion still mattered so much, they found themselves still staying quiet, still staying complacent.

With every new class period that goes by, the class of Caline Bustier found themselves noticing more and more how they missed the way things were before, the way things were with Marinette and without Lila. It was as if there was a void where she once stood, and the feeling that welled up inside of them when they noticed could only be described as grief. It was a bizarre feeling; grieving for someone that you still saw every single day.

Nino and Kim found themselves remembering when they were young and played and laughed with Marinette. Rose, Juleka, Mylène, and Alix realized how much they missed having group sleepovers with Marinette. Max and Ivan couldn’t help but notice the absence of Marinette’s aid to the class; something that they now knew they had taken for granted and expected to be a constant. Sabrina and Nathaniel silently took note of how the room wasn’t so bubbly anymore because the girl who made it bubbly was just there to learn now and nothing else. Adrien was able to sense that the girl that sat behind him didn’t smile as much anymore, and he was conflicted over why that bothered him so much. And Alya…Alya didn’t know what to think.

Though the class of Caline Bustier assessed the situation in different ways and at different speeds, they all found themselves coping in the same way. No one taught them how to handle losing a friend, and they didn’t expect it to be so hard going in. So, they all just ignored it as if it didn’t exist. Keep on keeping on. Maybe, if they wait long enough, the tension will cease and things will be able to just go back to normal. Normalcy sounded like Heaven to them; normalcy was something to count on. Besides, if things go back to normal, then there will be no need to even entertain the possibility that they were wrong.

Just the thought of the possibility made their stomachs churn uncomfortably in a way that they wanted to avoid at all costs. The feeling was worse than the cold front that they had all felt during their unique akumatizations. While Hawkmoth had been seizing control of their minds, they all somewhat knew that Ladybug and Chat Noir would be able to reset everything as if it never happened. Somehow, they all subconsciously knew that there was no “Miraculous Ladybug” for this. There was no reset button, and that was terrifying. There was no supervillain to blame for their actions, and that was unsettling. Responsibility was daunting and weighed heavily on them, threatening to crush the class of Caline Bustier. Now, they just sit in silence.

The idea of Marinette being right left such a disgusting feeling in their mouths that they silently and unanimously decided to reject the idea altogether. This subconscious decision compelled them to push Marinette even further away. She noticed. She found herself not caring as much as she should.

Things were going great for Marinette, and she honestly couldn’t complain. She and Jagged had settled on a design, so she was able to pour her heart out into making his outfit. Luka, Kagami, Marc, and Aurore were becoming a more stable presence in her life, and that made both her and her parents happy.

They didn’t ask or demand things from her, which helped alleviate some of her stress. They didn’t automatically look to her and push responsibilities on her, which she found that she didn’t mind. They made her happy, which she realized that she really needed. She felt at ease around them, and that was a good feeling.

Sure, she missed her old friends, and being around them all the time without wanting to chat and make plans to hang out felt weird. And, whenever a memory resurfaced involving her classmates, it rang a melancholy tone rather than the previous joyous tune. But, she could say that it was better than what she had been feeling around them lately. With her new friends, she felt wanted rather than needed and important rather than replaceable. This realization made Marinette feel as if a huge weight had been lifted off her chest.


	6. Diary Entry of Marinette Dupain-Cheng

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had noticed how some people were unsatisfied with the ending. While I wasn’t too keen on changing it since it was basically relaying personal experiences while use Miraculous Ladybug characters, I didn’t want to leave readers with a sour note. So, as a compromise, I wrote this sort-of epilogue.

_ Dear diary, _

_ It’s been two weeks since Lila transferred to a different school, and what I feel about it is different than how I felt when Chloé said she was moving to New York. I can’t describe it too well, but the best word I could use would be...clarity? It’s weird. _

_ Lila had won, technically; she had done exactly what she had set out to do, which was to turn Adrien and my friends against me. She had done that, but does it make me sound heartless to say that it was a worthless victory? _

_ My classmates are my friends. They used to be, at least. I valued them, and, at times, they valued me. I’m still around them; I see them everyday, and I sit in the same room as them for hours at a time. But there is no compulsion now to do anything more. They’ve become what I imagine it’s like to have coworkers. “We’re here for the same reason, and we’re doing the same thing. Our paths are the same, but we can all see that they diverge, turn and twist, at different points.” _

_ It does make school a bit more draining to attend than before. The classroom isn’t as alive as I’m used to. But that’s fine. It’s alright that I’m not completely happy with my current situation, not to say that that means I should just sit and take whatever negativity is thrown at me. I do other things instead that make me happy. I have a real friend group, I have passion projects, and I have my loving parents, stable figures in my life even through the hardships of shifting friend groups at school. _

_ My classmates did want to shift back after Lila left. They had all said, in one form or another, how they missed me and that they were sorry for how they treated me. I’m sure that, if Lila had been present, she would have been sneering discreetly...I don’t think that I’m going to shake away the feeling of Lila for a long time. _

_ I do some things with my classmates occasionally. We aren’t strangers with memories anymore. But there’s this unaddressed apprehension between all of us, something I’m not certain they’re aware of or not. It’s most clear with Adrien and Alya; my trepidation most evident. Tikki says that it’s because I just need time to learn to trust them again, so I’m inclined to believe and work off of that. _

_ Did I ever write in here about how I almost transferred classes to get away from it all, away from Lila? I can’t really remember, and my thoughts are all jumbled as it is. Well, after the incident where Lila took credit for my connection to Jagged Stone, I had been furious when I was given the time and space to process it. It felt maddening how, despite her having already won with turning my friends against me, she was still able to toy with me despite telling myself that I didn’t care. I hated it. I hated it, and I wanted out. _

_ Why didn’t I leave? Was it because of how much time was left in the school year? Was it because there wasn’t free space in other classes? Did I feel some personal responsibility to stay, even just to make sure that things didn’t spiral even more out of hand? It wouldn’t be my fault; I know that much. Others are not my responsibility, no matter how much I may want to help them. I guess I just never forced myself to come to an answer until the problem had solved itself. I’m very lucky in that regard. _

_ I thought I had felt relief before when I had felt secure with my new friends. I thought that I had felt confident before when I had felt pride with my fashion creations. I’m having to check myself more and more and force myself to confront what I’m actually feeling and why. Tikki says that it may help with processing and moving on from things. I hope she’s right. _

_ I’m not really sure what note to end on. I can’t help but feel like there’s a lesson I’m supposed to take away from what I can only refer to as the “Lila Era”. I’m Ladybug, and I know I’m supposed to be setting an example, but I have to know what example that is. Complicity in bad situations and waiting until it fixes itself? No, I would never allow that to happen if I knew someone else was going through the bad situation. Learn to let go of things until they have no control over you? Not that either considering it’d make me a hypocrite due to Lila still bothering me even now. _

_ Oh, I think I know how to end this now-I know what to report. I’m learning to trust myself. I’m learning to trust what I perceive, I’m learning to trust my value as a friend, as a person, and I’m learning to trust that it’s okay to be vulnerable and reach out to others for support. I’m definitely aware of myself enough to know that I’ve leaned on Luka and Kagami when working through my emotions a fair amount of times when we’re together. _

_ Mama and Papa just called me down for dinner, so that’s all for now, dear diary. _


End file.
